Decorative light



1963 R. w. STEVENS ETAL 3,111,276

DECORATIVE LIGHT Filed May 17, 1960 MHENTORS.

RICHARD WILUAN SEVENS PETER THOMAS H ODD TTORNE) United States Patent 3,111,276 DECORATIVE LIGHT Richard William Stevens and Peter Thomas Rodd, London, England, assignors to Thorn Electrical Industries Limited, London, England, a British company Filed May 17, 1960, Ser. No. 29,747 Claims priority, application Great Britain May 20, 1959 5 Claims. (Cl. 240) The present invention relates to lighting arrangements and particularly to such arrangements giving a decorative lighting effect.

At the present time opalescent glass is widely used in the lighting industry in the manufacture of lighting fittings to produce a decorative effect. On the other hand the glass industry has developed techniques in recent years exploiting the decorative effect produced by thick sections of clear glass, for example, in the form of vases and dishes. There has, however, been no attempt to utilise this latter form of glassware in lighting arrangements.

To achieve satisfactory results with a lighting arrangement utilising transparent glassware some means must be provided for directing light from the source into the thickness of the glass itself and also some means for shielding the light source from direct view so that the decorative lighting effect of the glass is not masked.

It is one object of the present invention to provide an improved lighting arrangement utilising transparent glass to produce a decorative lighting eflect and in which the above mentioned conditions for satisfactory results can be met.

According to the present invention there is provided a lighting arrangement comprising a transparent body formed with a neck portion which fits into an aperture formed in an opaque casing containing or adapted to contain a light source, the end of the neck portion being so formed and disposed as to receive and transmit light from the light source, and the body being so shaped as to cause said transmitted light to be distributed therein by a multiple internal reflection.

It will be appreciated that where the body is a hollow body constructed of glass and has a thick wall, its weight may be quite considerable and it is desirable to provide a sm'e means of supporting it.

According to an embodiment of the present invention the neck portion of the body is provided in the region of the end thereof with an external peripheral enlargement which is engaged by a gripping device comprising a plurality of resilient strips each of which is fixed at one end in relation to supporting means for the light source and hooked at the other end which is free, the disposition of the strips being such that in the absence of the casing enclosing the light source the neck portion of the hollow body can pass between the hooked ends of the strips and the hooked ends brought into engagement with that part of the neck portion behind said enlargement by movement of said strips by .the casing When the latter is moved to a position in which it encloses the light source.

One embodiment of the invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing, which is a part sectional elevation of a suspended lighting fitting.

Referring to the drawing, there is provided a hollow glass body 11 which is open at one end and which tenninates at the other in an apertured neck portion 12 which engages in the open end of a cylindrical metal casing 13 which serves as an enclosure for an electric lamp holder 14 and an electric lamp 15. The neck portion 12 of the glass body 11 is provided with an external peripheral enlargement 16 and the glass body 11 is suspended from the lamp holder by a gripping device comprising three 3,1 1 1,276 Patented Nov. 19, 1963 resilient metal strips 17, one of which is shown in the drawing. As shown, each metal strip is fixed at one end to an apertured circular metal plate 18 secured to the lamp holder 14 and the arrangement is such that the strips are equally spaced round the circumference of the plate 18. The free end of each strip 17 is bent round to form a hook 19 and the arrangement is such that in the absence of the casing 13 the neck portion 12 can pass freely between the hooked ends of the three strips 17.

The lamp holder 14 is suspended from a rigid conduit 20 carrying electrical supply leads for supplying current to the electric lamp 15. As shown, the cylindrical metal casing 13 is apertured at the end remote from the glass body 11 and the conduit 20 passes through the aperture.

In assembling the fitting, the metal casing 13 is pushed upwards and the neck portion 12 of the glass body 11 is passed between hooked ends 19 of the resilient strips 17. The metal casing 13 is then lowered and the edges of the open end engage the resilient metal strips 17 and force them radially inwards, the hooked ends 19 then taking up the position shown in the drawing. The casing 13 is then finally pushed downwards until the open end thereto engages the shoulder of the glass body 11. The glass body 11 is thus securely held by the resilient strips 17.

The light from the lamp 15 passes through the end of the neck portion 12 and undergoes multiple internal reflection within the glass wall of the body 11 and is thereby distributed throughout said body 11. Clearly, direct viewing of the lamp 15 from the side of the fitting is prevented by the metal casing 13 and the only light to be transmitted from the fitting is that passing through the opening in the neck portion 12 and that passing within the wall of the glass body 11.

The light transmitted within the wall of the glass body 11 will be emitted from this body where there is discontinuity in the surface of the glass or within the glass. Such discontinuities may be used to give a good decorative effect. For example, the glass may be so manufactured as to contain air bubbles arranged to form a pattern. These bubbles pick up the light and cause the body to sparkle. Alternatively, the surface of the glass may be engraved or etched with a surface pattern which again would be lit up by the internal reflected light. In yet another arrangement the glass body 11 could be coloured either by applying coloured glass to the surface of a colourless glass body or by using mixtures of glass of different colours in the manufacture of the glass.

Although it is particularly advantageous to use glass to give decorative effect, it will be appreciated that the transparent body could if desired be manufactured from Perspex or other transparent plastics material.

It will be appreciated that alternatively the lamp holder 14 may be of the cord-grip type and suspended by the electrical supply leads.

Whilst the arrangement is effective with an ordinary incandescent lamp, the effect is particularly enhanced if a lamp with a reflector coating applied to the upper half of the glass bulb is used. The effect of the reflector coating is to direct a substantial proportion of the light emitted by the filament in a 'downward direction into the body of the glass.

We claim:

1. A lighting arrangement comprisling: a movable opaque casing having an aperture at one end thereof; means for supporting a light source in said casing, said means being positioned so that said source is entirely disposed within said casing and shielded from view in all directions except substantially along the axis of said casing in which there is an aperture; a hollow body of transparent material, said body having an apertured neck por- 3 tion fitting into the aperture of said casing, means disposed upon the support for said light source for supporting the neck of said body by an external peripheral enlargement of said neck portion, said body being disposed so as to receive light from said light source and transmit it inside said material by internal reflections and thus to distribute the light throughout the material of said body.

2. A lighting arrangement according to claim 1, Wherein the means for supporting said body further comprises at least one resilient strip fixed at one end relatively to said supporting means and having an inwardly turned portion, said casing engaging said resilient strip and having a spring portion at its end urging said inwardly turned portion beneath said enlargement, thereby supporting said body from said supporting means.

3. A lighting arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said supporting means comprises an elongated member and wherein said casing has a small central opening at the end opposite said aperture through which said elongated member passes, said casing being slidable on said elongated member from a first position in which it is disengaged from said resilient strip to a second position in which the edges of the open end engage the transparent body.

4. A lighting arrangement according to claim 2 wherein said resilient strip is bowed away from the longitudinal axis of said casing.

5 A lighting arrangement according to claim 1, Wherein said casing and said neck portion are of circular cross section and wherein said end of said neck portion lies substantially in a plane perpendicular to the axis of said casing.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 977,940 DOlier Dec. 6, 1910 1,437,502 Dvorak Dec. 5, 1922 2,011,678 Downer Aug. 20, 1935 2,244,737 Stewant June 10, 1941 2,474,327 Rolph June 28, 1949 2,858,418 Moser et al. Oct. 28, 1958 2,914,658 Nordquist Nov. 24, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 286,847 Great Britain Mar. 15, 192 8 50,443 France Mar. 12, 1940 153,107 Australia Sept. 7, 1953 

1. A LIGHTING ARRANGEMENT COMPRISLING: A MOVABLE OPAQUE CASING HAVING AN APERTURE AT ONE END THEREOF; MEANS FOR SUPPORTING A LIGHT SOURCE IN SAID CASING, SAID MEANS BEING POSITIONED SO THAT SAID SOURCE IS ENTIRELY DISPOSED WITHIN SAID CASING AND SHIELDED FROM VIEW IN ALL DIRECTIONS EXCEPT SUBSTANTIALLY ALONG THE AXIS OF SAID CASING IN WHICH THERE IS AN APERTURE; A HOLLOW BODY OF TRANSPARENT MATERIAL, SAID BODY HAVING AN APERTURED NECK PORTION FITTING INTO THE APERTURE OF SAID CASING, MEANS DISPOSED UPON THE SUPPORT FOR SAID LIGHT SOURCE FOR SUPPORTING THE NECK OF SAID BODY BY AN EXTERNAL PERIPHERAL ENLARGEMENT OF SAID NECK PORTION, SAID BODY BEING DISPOSED SO AS TO RECEIVE LIGHT FROM SAID LIGHT SOURCE AND TRANSMIT IT INSIDE SAID MATERIAL BY INTERNAL REFLECTIONS AND THUS TO DISTRIBUTE THE LIGHT THROUGHOUT THE MATERIAL OF SAID BODY. 